The Years Before He was a Hero
by Sir Edward
Summary: [Slight CloudTifa, if you look at it crosseyed] This is a story about the years before Cloud was taken into Shinra, and injected with Mako. It starts in Nieblehiem, a while before Sephy comes and burns it down... Please R&R! Biggs is in it!
1. Chapter 1

I

Cloud Strife stood outside, looking through the garden fence. He was looking for his friend Tifa Lockheart, his best friend, and cohort in crime. When he saw her, her small form playing in the sprinkler, laughing as she frolicked through the misty spray, he longed to be over there so he could play too. His vibrant blue eyes watched her every move, as she rough and tumbled with another friend of hers. He sighed a small sigh, and turned to go back inside.

He found his mother, sitting in the living room, knitting something out of fine thread. She looked up at Cloud with a small smile as he walked into the room.

"You never cease to amaze me at how tall you've grown young man. Your only 11, and you're taller than I am! I need to stop feeding you or else I will have a giant on my hands!" She grabbed Cloud up in a hug, and smothered his face with gentle kisses.

"Mom! Don't embarrass me! Can I go outside and play with Tifa Momma?" His blue eyes inquired with hope of freedom.

"Yes my little one. Go play with your friends… Today's a beautiful day." She waved him out the door, but he stopped at the threshold, and turned back.

"I'm not little anymore!" and wondered outside.

He started to run, and when he came to Tifa's yard, he stopped.

There was an older boy who had grabbed hold of Tifa, and was telling her to do something that she was refusing to do. Cloud felt anger flush his face red, as he watched the boy try to kiss Tifa. He grabbed up a stout stick, and held it before him like a long sword. He then rushed at the older boy, landing a smarting blow across the back of his head. He yelled "LEAVE HER ALONE!" as he swung the stick a second time, catching the boy in the nose with his stick. The boy stumbled back, and looked at Cloud.

"You little pipsqueak! I'll get you for that. I'll get you…" but he didn't finish, because Tifa had kicked him in the back of the leg, causing him to fall.

The boy landed on his back with a thud, and Tifa was on top of him.

She put one fist into his eye, and the other hit him in the stomach. He felt pain run through his body, and he screamed, "UNCLE! MERCY! I GIVE!" and wildly tried to free himself. Tifa looked down into the boy's face, her reddish-brown eyes looking at him in disgust.

"Do you mean it?" she said in an angry tone of voice.

"YES! JUST GET OFF OF ME!" shouted the boy, who continued to struggle.

"Say please." She said with great authority.

"PLEASE!"

She got up off the boy, and reached out her hand to help him up. The boy looked at her hand, and shied away from it. He jumped up, and ran as fast as he could from the two children, not looking back.

Cloud swung his stick in a circle, and smiled at Tifa who was stretching her shoulders.

"That was jolly fun!" exclaimed Cloud, with mischief in his eyes.

Tifa simply gave him a look, and said,

"I could've handled that myself Cloud! Why'd you have to butt in?"

"Cause I thought you was needing my help." Said Cloud, a pained expression on his cute little face.

"I wasn't! You keep your nose out of other people's business!"

She saw how sad he was after she said that, and she thanked him for the help, and that seemed to brighten him up.

Cloud saw a group of boys who had the older boy among them, and they walked up to Cloud and Tifa and started to sing a song.

"Cloud and Tifa sittin' in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes love, second comes marriage, third comes Cloud sittin' in a baby carriage!" They all fell into gales of laughter, pointing at the two blushing kids.

Cloud brandished his stick at the boys, and made a face.

"I'll show you!" said Cloud in a mocking tone of voice.

The boy looked angrily at Cloud, but hesitated to just openly attack him, when he was carrying that stick.

"You a scardy cat? Come and get me!" Cloud ran, throwing jests and taunts back behind him, laughing that the boy fallowed. Cloud ran a little farther, then stopped and turned around, lashing out with his stick. He got the boy the full on in the face, and the boy yelped, and began to cry. Cloud looked at the boy with anger burning in his cool eyes.

"Don't you ever touch Tifa again! And don't ever talk like we're married!" Cloud said, his voice still too high to make it sound threatening, but the other boy got the point.

"I WON'T! I'M TELLING MY MOMMY THAT YOU HURT ME!" and he left, his friends laughing at him, and saying snide remarks about how he was beaten up by a little kid.

Then to the surprise of both Cloud and Tifa, they walked up to them, and started to talk to them.

"You two beat up big Hector! You made him cry! That swing was amazing, where did you learn to do that? Can you show us haw to fight like that?" They aimed a bunch of questions at them, and Cloud was looking shocked, and Tifa was a little frightened.

"I don't talk to strangers." Said Cloud, who began to walk away.

"No! Don't go! I'm Biggs, and these are my cronies Mikado, Ajax, Wallace, Roland and Zia. Now we aren't strangers any more are we?" Biggs indicated each of his friends, who flashed smiles as their names where called.

"Well…" thought Cloud, his finger on his chin. "I'm Cloud, and this is Tifa, you want to be our friends? We can go on jolly adventures! And slay dragons, and save fair maidens from ogres and stuff?" He looked excitedly at the new kids standing in front of him.

"Golly Tifa! We have new friends!" he extended his hand out to each of the kids in turn, and shook other's hands warmly.

They talked for a while, and had a good laugh at Hector, and then got down to business.

"You guys! We are having a problem. There is a group of kids that call themselves 'The Doom', and they think we was trying to spy on one of their secret meetings… We need you guys's help! They want to fight us, and we know they'll beat us up. We are looking for tough kids to help us show'em that we aren't wusses. Want to help?" Biggs looked desperately at his two new friends, hoping that they would help.

Cloud considered it a moment, then said,

"Friends help friends, so I'll help, hows about you Tifa?"

"I'm game." She said, folding her arms over her chest, and glaring at Biggs.

"Good! Then we'll definitely win!" Biggs clasped Cloud's hand, and shook it again. "The fight's tomorrow night, at 11:00. Be at the town hill outside the parameters, and help us!"

"Uhh, we can't go out past 7:00, cause my mommy doesn't want me out when the big kids are out… But I'll be there!" Cloud shouted, excited at the idea of a fight.

"But Cloud! You're grounded remember! You can't go out!" Tifa whispered in his ear, and looked at Cloud with a sad expression.

"Mommy has forgiven me. I might get in trouble for being out late, but friends stick up for each other!"

"But…."

"No buts! I'm going to be there!"

"Why do you always have to play the hero Cloud!" cried Tifa with an even sadder expression.

"I'm no hero! I just want to help my friends!"

"Cloud I don't want you to get into any more trouble!" complained Tifa, giving Cloud a stern look.

"Don't worry about me! My mommy does enough of that for the world!" Cloud said in an exasperated tone. He rolled his eyes, and crossed his arms, nodding at Biggs.

"I'm going and that's final!"

"Fine then, suite yourself." Tifa said, shaking her head vehemently.

Biggs looked at Cloud, a smirked.

"She likes you Cloud!" he whispered in Cloud's ear, grinning with a bemused look on his lean face.

Cloud blushed to the roots of his hair, a brilliant shade of crimson, and looked away from the older boy. Biggs nudged him in the ribs with his elbow, and gave him thumbs up.

"Go for it man! She's looking for you. She really likes you." He nudged Cloud again, and the boy stepped back and shook his head.

"No." Cloud's eyes where turned to the ground, and his face was still red.

"Alright, if that's the way you want it, when she gets older, and finds another guy, you're going to be sad you didn't start now…" Biggs whispered, then he shrugged his shoulders, and looked at Tifa.

"You coming?" he asked, giving the girl a nod.

"I… I'm going if Cloud is…" she said.

"Good, he is, so lets get going! We need to prepare for tomorrow night!" Biggs waved his hand at the group behind him, and turned to Cloud.

"You two want to help us? You could teach us some of those moves you used on Hector. Would you?"

"Sure, that would be jolly fun! You want to help Tifa?"

"Okay, let me ask my parents though." She walked off, not bothering to wait for an answer.

Biggs glanced at Cloud, and made a kissy face at Cloud, and grinned.

Cloud gave him his best death stare, but that made Biggs laugh even harder.

"You really should just ask her… She's cute, and strong, I'd take her if she wasn't younger…"

"Don't talk about her like that!" Cloud raised his fist, as if to strike Biggs.

Biggs backed up, and put his hands out in front of him.

"Easy there Killer, I wasn't asking you to hurt me, I was just giving you advice!"

Cloud lowered his fists, and laughed at Biggs.

"You afraid of me too? I'm so much smaller'n you, and you're afraid of me!"

Biggs gave Cloud a look of utter disagreement, then said,

"I'd take you on any day, if you weren't my friend!"

Cloud smiled, and nodded at Biggs.

"Okay!"

Just then Tifa came back, and said she would help them too. Biggs' group gave a shout of approval, and took Cloud and Tifa to where they had been working on their fighting skills.

Then they paired off, to start a sparing match. Cloud was paired with Roland, and Tifa with Ajax. They began their training.

Biggs informed the two on the rule of the sparing matches, and then told them to spar with their partners.

Roland was a tall lad, a full two heads taller than Cloud. He was springy, and moved fast. Cloud was small in most proportions, and not as old as Roland, but felt a certainty in him that he could win.

Ajax was the biggest of the boys, and was also the oldest. He bowed to Tifa, who bowed back, and then they began to circle.

Tifa waited for Ajax to make an attack, and dodged the blow, and took a swing at him. Her fist connected squarely with his jaw, and he fell to the mat. The others watched in a circle, as Ajax got up. He grinned at Tifa and said,

"You punch like a boy! That was good!" he nodded at her and circled with her again.

Ajax made the second move, and was laid on the mat again. Tifa shook her head.

"Don't be so easy on me! I'm a girl yes, but a wuss, no!"

She held out her hand, and Ajax took it, and she pulled him onto his feet.

"My sparring master at the dojo says that you should never underestimate women!"

Ajax laughed, and bowed to her again. They circled and Ajax waited this time. Tifa got impatient, and came at him, her fist stopped before it made contact.

Tifa felt herself get picked up off the floor, and rolled off Ajax's knee, to land on the mat.

"Wow! Did you see Ajax? That was so cool!" cried Zia, who was the youngest of the group.

Tifa got up, and jumped at Ajax, and tripped him.

His heavy form fell to the mat with a thud, and Tifa was declared the victor.

She helped Ajax up, and patted him on his back.

"Good match." She said jovially.

"I would never have guessed I would lose to a girl!" Ajax shook hands with Tifa, and then joined the circle to watch Cloud and Roland. Tifa fallowed suit, and cheered Cloud on.

Cloud and Roland went to the center of the circle, and bowed to each other. Then they circled like Ajax and Tifa did. Cloud put out his hand, and ducked, as Roland's hand came toward him. He drove in, and tackled Roland, and rolled off.

Roland looked disappointed, as Biggs held up a finger to indicate a win.

Roland then watched Cloud's moves intently, trying to see if he could imitate his competitor. Roland lashed out with a foot, but Cloud moved out of the way, and laughed. Roland was starting to feel a little anger, but knew that Cloud would not lash out in anger against him, so he calmed himself, and pushed another attack.

This time he succeeded in getting Cloud in the side with a strike, and then he fallowed up with another, and then he swiped Cloud's feet out from under him.

Cloud hit the mat hard, but was up in an instant. He flung himself at the taller boy, and landed one punch, right in his stomach, and Roland fell with a grunt.

"That was uncalled for!" Shouted Biggs, who waved a hand at Roland, as the boy rolled on the floor, holding his belly.

Cloud looked at Roland, and went to help him.

Roland rolled over, jumped up, and put Cloud on his back.

"Two to one! I'm fine! Couldn't you see I was laughing?"

Cloud got up, and shook his head.

"Why where you laughing?"

"Because you fell for my trick!" Roland smiled at the startled Cloud, and cuffed him on the shoulder in a playful fashion.

They continued to play like that, and in the end, they gave Tifa the title of "One Bad Girl" and that made her blush from pride.


	2. Chapter 2

II

At around 5:00pm, after a long 'training' session, Cloud and Tifa walked home, tired but happy that they had made new friends.

"That was fun, wasn't it Cloud?" Tifa asked, her red-brown eyes glowing with pleasure and joy.

"Yeah! That rocked!" Cloud said, pumping his fist into the air.

They walked on, watching the sun go down, its passing dying the sky a brilliant shade of purple, and the clouds a creamy lavender color. It was a beautiful sight.

"Oh Cloud! Look up! The sky's so beautiful!" Tifa said, pointing a short stubby finger up at the heavens, wonder filling her eyes.

Cloud looked up, and saw that the sky was indeed beautiful, and he gave Tifa a smile, and nodded.

When they got to there respective homes, Tifa gave Cloud a quick hug, and ran inside before he could protest.

He stood rooted to the spot, and remembered what Biggs had told him.

"_Go for it man! She's looking for you. She really likes you..._ _You really should just ask her… She's cute, and strong, I'd take her if she wasn't younger…_"

Cloud shook his head, and marched into his house, a small innocent smile plastered on his little face.

"CLOUD STRIFE!" Came his mother's voice, as it echoed through the whole house.

"Um... Mother?" He said, his big blue eyes wide and innocent, he stood with his hands behind his back, looking up at his mother, as she looked down at him with guilt in her eyes.

"I'm sorry Cloud... I shouldn't yell at you like that... Come eat your supper before it gets cold." She said, taking him up in a gentle hug, and planting a motherly kiss on his forehead.

He marched into the kitchen, and sat at the small round table, inhaling the delicious smells that wafted from the bowls and plates.

He sat, and watched his mother put food on a plate, and pass it to him.

He stared down at the green on his plate, and scowled.

"Ew! I hate broccoli!" He said, his little face contorted into the 'yuck smell' face.

"If you don't eat your broccoli, then you can't have any pudding!" His mother said in a quiet threatening voice.

Cloud's eyes widened.

"PUDDING!" He shouted, and shoved half the broccoli into his mouth at once, chewing quickly and swallowing all within a half a minute.

"Don't eat so fast... You could choke. You don't want that do you?"

Cloud looked up from the mostly decimated broccoli, and shook his head, putting one piece in his mouth at a time, and chewing it carefully.

"That's better..." She said, smiling at Cloud, her pearl blue eyes shining in the light of the overhead.

He chewed the broccoli like it was his worst enemy, his little nose scrunched up in the 'yuck smell' face.

He finished his broccoli and then stared in on the rest of his food, mashed potatoes and chicken, one of his favorite meals that his mother made.

"YUM!" He cried out with joy as he took a bite of the chicken, his eyes round like Christmas bulbs, as he tasted the succulent meat.

"Is it good honey?" His mother asked, smiling at Cloud.

"Umhmm!" He replied, eyes still as large as saucers.

"I'm glad to hear that... Eat up, so that you can have pudding before you go to bed."

"Okay!" He replied excitedly, eating quickly, but politely.

Soon he finished his chicken and mashed potatoes, and his mother brought out the pudding.

"What kind is it?" He asked eyes riveted on the bowl as his mother placed it on the table.

"Why chocolate of course!"

"YAY! CHOCOLATE! MY FAVORITE!" He cried, throwing his hands up into the air in his joy.

He ate quickly and with much gusto, sighing with disappointment when he had finished his bowl.

"Could I have sommore Mama?" He asked, giving her a cute look, almost like a begging dog.

"No, not tonight Cloud... You've had enough for now. You can have some tomorrow though." She answered, with a smile on her face.

"Oh... Okay... Go'night mom." He said, giving her a quick hug before running upstairs to brush his teeth and take a bath.

As he lay in bed, he thought about the day.

"_I wonder if Biggs is right about Tifa? She does seem to worry a lot about me... I don't know... I think she's just my friend. Why would he think differently? And the Zia, she's something else! She and Tifa where so well matched... It's scary to think that there're other girls like Tifa out there... Not that Tifa's scary, she's just different that the other girls. She isn't all scared of bugs and stuff, and she loves to play in the mud! And Biggs... He's so weird... Ajax is so big! He's gotta be like 15! But he said he was 10... How'd he get so big? And Roland... He's gotta be the tallest kid I've ever seen... I wish I was that big... That'd be so cool!_" Cloud thought of other things as well, and drifted off to sleep, dreaming of castles and monsters, knights and their horses, and other fanciful things.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Tifa lay in bed, and reflected on the day as well, her brown eyes shining faintly in the dull moonlight.

"_I hope that we don't get caught out so late... It's going to be scary, but Cloud and Biggs will be there, and I'm strong, so there should be no worries... They're an odd group of kids, but I like them. I'm going to do my best tomorrow night, for Cloud... I want to show him that I'm strong, so that he'll stop trying to protect me all the time... Although I do kinda like it... He's so nice to me... Always there and always ready to help me when I need it... I'm glad that I've got him as a friend._" She smiled up at the ceiling, closing her eyes, and drifting into a blissful slumber.


	3. Chapter 3

Here's a chapter to all of my fans, who've been waiting for this for a long time...

I live in a land of no technology, so I haven't been able to post chapters for a while.

That and I've had a serious bout of writer's block, and a very hard time with my college schedule. But that is not important...

I would like to dedicate this chapter to a reader of mine, that was concerned with my long delay with this story... I dedicate this chapter to Le Pecore Nere.

Here's the next chapter! Hope you enjoy it!

III

The next day, Cloud woke feeling revived, and ready for the battle of his lifetime.

His bright blue eyes snapped open, and he grinned up at the ceiling, and then jumped out of bed, his Superman pajamas flung off in a hurry, and his day wear quickly donned. He ran down stairs, and threw himself onto his chair at the table, and smiled at his mother.

""Mornin' Mom! Whas for breakfast?" He asked, his tone giving away his excitement.

"Scrambled eggs and toast, dear. What's gotten into you? You're very happy today." His mother asked, as she took the toast out of the toaster, and spread butter on it.

"Nothin' Mama. I'm excited about today... Tifa and I are going to play with our new friends today." He said, trying to hide his elation better.

"Well, that's nice. Who're your 'new friends'?"

"His name is Biggs. He's a kid I met yesterday when I was playing with Tifa. He's really cool. And there's Ajax, a BIG kid, even though he said he was young, he looks like a giant. And Zia, she's part of their group too. She trains at the dojo that Tifa goes to. And then there's Roland... He's as tall as a tree! I want to be that tall when I grow up! That would be so cool!" Cloud said, his eyes sparkling at the idea of being really tall.

"Oh... They sound nice." His mother replied, placing a plate of steaming eggs and perfectly browned toast in front of him.

"Yeah... Thanks Mom." Cloud said, as he started to eat.

"It looks like it will be another beautiful day out, so you should go and enjoy it."

Cloud smiled, and kept eating.

"Just be careful. There are things out in the woods, and you have to watch out."

"I know Mama. I'm strong, just like Dad, so I can protect myself!"

His mother's eyes grew dim with the mention of her husband, who had died a while ago, in a freak accident that also took the life of 122 other people.

"Mama... Whas wrong?" He asked, when he saw tears in his mother's eyes.

"Nothing darling... nothing." She said, wiping the tears away quickly, and smiling to hide her sadness from her son.

"Okay Mom..." He said, and continued to eat.

When he had finished, he ran outside, and looked for Tifa.

He found her standing by the big pine tree that grew in her front yard.

"Hey! We should go find Biggs and them!" Cloud said animatedly, as he bounced towards her.

"Hey Cloud! Let's go find them! That would be fun." Tifa said, jogging up to meet him in the street.

They ran off together, and went to the secret hiding place that they had went to yesterday, and knocked on the large plywood board that hid the entrance.

"Who is it, and what's the password?" Came a deep voice from behind the door.

"It's Cloud and Tifa, Ajax! You never told us that there was a password!" Cloud said through the plywood.

"Oh... Hey Cloud..." Ajax replied, shoving aside the plywood, and looking to see if it was really them.

He let them in, and shoved the heavy plywood piece back in place.

"How's it going?" Ajax asked, nodding to them in greeting.

"I'm well." Tifa said.

"GREAT!" Cloud said with exuberance, because he couldn't contain his excitement any longer.

"Well that's good. Let's go do some more training... I want to beat those dumb kids from that gang, and show'em who's boss."

They went into the large warehouse, and the group put down the mats for training.

After a few hours, they all lay on the mats, completely exhausted from their hard work.

"... That... was... great." Panted Cloud, his eyes half closed, as he lay spread-eagle on the mat next to Roland and Tifa.

"Yeah... We'll beat those jerks for sure." Roland said, sitting up, which took great effort.

"Piece of cake!" Ajax said, who seemed to be the only one who had enough energy to stand up all the way.

After they had rested for a while, they picked up the mats, and went home for lunch.

Cloud got home, and had a sandwich and a cookie, and then went back out to play.

He went over to Tifa's house, and knocked on the door.

A tall woman with long dark hair answered.

"Oh, hello Cloud. Are you looking for Tifa?" She asked, smiling down at him.

"Yes ma'am... Can she come out to play again?"

"Yes she can... As soon as she finishes lunch, I'll send her out, okay?" Tifa's mom patted him on his head, and turned, closing the door.

Cloud waited outside Tifa's house for what felt like an eternity to him, even though it had been less then five minutes.

When Tifa finally came out, Cloud was starting to get impatient.

"What took you forever?" He asked.

"I was eating! And it wasn't forever!" Tifa replied, a little startled by the tone Cloud had used.

"Let's go! They wanted us back like a million years ago!" Cloud complained, as he started to run to the secret spot.

Tifa ran to keep up with him, unsure of what was so important that they needed to run.

They got back to the warehouse, and entered, to find that the others had started without them.

When they entered, Biggs looked up from the mat, having just been pinned there by Zia.

"Hey... What took you two so long?" He said, as he straightened his shirt.

"Tifa took to long eating her lunch!" Cloud said.

"Oh... Well you two can pair off if you want." Biggs said with a hint of mischief in his voice that neither Cloud nor Tifa picked up on.

They turned to each other, and then went to an empty mat.

Cloud faced Tifa and said, "You ready?"

"Yup. Ready." She said, trying to settle the butterflies that where suddenly swirling in her stomach.

They began to spar, circling each other and waiting for the attack, but none came.

They continued to circle one another, but neither made an attempt to strike the other.

Soon, all the others where watching them just go in circles, until Tifa finally decided that she wouldn't hurt Cloud.

"I can't do this." She said, and simply walked off the mat and sat against the wall.

"But Tif! You need to practice in order to get better! Come now, we're not trying to kill one another, just don't hurt him and everything will be just fine." Said Biggs from the mat, rubbing his shoulder where he had hit when Zia had tossed him.

"I don't want to spar with Cloud... It would be like... I don't know..." Tifa's sentence drifted off at the end, and the others looked at her with arched brows.

"What's wrong? You think you'll hurt him?" Zia asked.

"No. I just feel... Well, yes I think I might hurt him." She said concealing the real reason she didn't want to spar with him.

"Okay... Tif, do you really think you could hurt him? He's a tough guy, it'd take a lot to hurt him." Biggs continued, smiling at Cloud.

Tifa's face went red, and she turned away.

"_I can't tell them that I like Cloud... They'd make fun of me! And Cloud! What would he do?_" She thought.

"No... I know I couldn't hurt Cloud, I just... Oh, never mind." She got up, and walked back over to the mat, and grabbed Cloud's arm, dragging him to the mat.

"_Might as well get this over with, and deal with the feelings later._" She thought.

"We'll spar, happy?" She said, turning to Biggs, and glaring.

"Yup. I'm good. Shoulder kinda hurts, but I feel good."

This time, Cloud and Tifa circled, and there was a very different feel to their movements.

Tifa came in, and threw a punch at Cloud, who blocked with his arm, and stepped back.

Tifa pressed her attack, having learned that from her karate class, and went to trip Cloud and hopefully gently toss him to the mat.

But as she hooked her foot around Cloud's leg, he stumbled into her, and she ended up tripping with him.

They fell to the mat with a thud, in an awkward position, with Cloud landing with one hand across Tifa's chest, while Tifa's hand actually got Cloud right in the crotch.

Cloud gave a spluttering cough, and then Tifa noticed where their hands where.

She pulled away, blushing a lovely bright red color, her breath coming in little gasps.

"S... sorry!" She managed to stutter out, watching as Cloud curled up into a ball.

He gave a muffled cry, as his face was buried in the mat, and wriggled a little.

"Wow... She got him good." Biggs said, wincing at the thought of the accident.

After about two minutes, Cloud finally started to move again, and he uncurled from his fetal position and staggered to his feet.

"I'm... okay..." He said, slumping against the wall for support.

"Gosh! I'm so sorry Cloud!" Tifa cried, running over to him and hugging him tightly, wishing she had never chosen to spar with him.

Cloud looked up at her, with his large blue eyes still misty with the after thought of tears, and smiled slightly.

"You didn't... mean too... right?" He asked.

"No! I'd never, never want to... to do that!" She replied, hoping that he believed her.

"Then... I forgive... you." Cloud nodded to her, and then slid down the wall, and sat on the ground.

"I think that this is the end of this training session, so let's pack up and help Cloud get home." Biggs said, watching as the others started to obey his order.

He walked over to Cloud, and knelt down next to him.

"She got you damn good. That must've hurt."

"Yeah... It did..." Cloud squeaked a little.

Biggs laughed.

"That was a great move though... Tripped her up with you! Keep that up, and no one's going to have to fight you... You'll get hit again, and that'd be it."

Cloud glared up at Biggs, and stood back up.

"Need help?" Zia asked.

"Please." Cloud said.

Zia moved up to Cloud, and gently wrapped an arm under his shoulder, and helped to support him.

Tifa saw this, and she felt a fire of jealousy creep into her brain.

"_She's trying to take Cloud! I can't let her do that!_"

She ran over to Zia.

"Here, let me help him home, 'cause I live right next door to him..."

Zia gave Tifa a look of disappointment, but complied, and let Tifa take Cloud home.

They got home after 5:00pm, and by the time they had gotten home; Cloud could walk by himself again.

"Thanks Tifa. See you at 11:00!" He said just as excitedly as he had before the unfortunate accident.

"Yeah... See you then." She said, and they both went to their homes, to get supper.


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry this took so long to update... I was very busy with school work.

IV

Cloud had slept little over the past five hours, because he was to excited about that night. He leapt out of bed quietly, at around 10:15, and put on some grubby clothes. He checked to see if his mother was asleep, and when he confirmed that she was indeed sleeping, he crept out the door, and went to Tifa's house.

He waited for about fifteen minutes, before Tifa arrived, dressed in a black shirt and a pair black shorts.

"You ready?" He whispered excitedly, a broad grin breaking across his face.

"I... I guess." Tifa replied, not quite sure she felt the same amount of enthusiasm for the upcoming event.

They went to the hill, and found the others there already.

Biggs and Ajax stood at the front of the group, talking about how they needed to show the Doom that they where not to be pushed around.

"Oh... And here are the stars!" Biggs said, as Tifa and Cloud approached.

The others cheered for a few moments, but the happiness quickly faded when they saw the Doom on the other side of the hill.

"So... You little spies actually came? What a bunch of dumb asses!" A tall boy shouted up at the group.

"Yeah! We've come to send you home crying!" Biggs said, waving a hand at the leader of the Doom as if dismissing him.

"You said the wrong thing chump... I'm Wedge, the best in my karate class... No one messes with me!" The boy said, his eyes narrowed, and his mouth contorted into a sneer.

"Yeah, well we've found a girl who could kick your butt!" Biggs said, pointing a long finger at Tifa.

"You think that little girl can beat me? She's got to be like six years old! How could she possibly beat the best student in a karate class?"

"You'll find out soon enough!" Ajax cried, hefting his stick.

Two large boys from the Doom stepped forward, and punched their hands, looking ready to take anyone apart who dared to challenge them.

"So... Who's going to take who?" Wedge said, grinning at Biggs.

"I get Wedge... He's mine!" Tifa said, her hands on her hips, her face set and determined.

"Okay... I thought maybe Cloud could take him... But if you want to, no one's stopping you." Biggs said, shaking his head.

"I want the big thug over by the lanky kid." Ajax said, pointing to a large boy who had short, scruffy looking hair, and a large head.

"I'll take Lanky." Zia said.

The boy she was indicating smiled.

"So I get a girl huh... You're pretty cute there. My name's Percy, what's yours?"

Zia glared at the boy, and shook her head.

"None of your business!" She spat, also placing her hands on her hips.

"I'll make it my business then!" Percy said in a defiant tone.

"Try it!" She said, smiling as she caught the boy off guard.

Biggs pointed to a short boy, with long hair.

"You." He said.

The boy smiled.

"You made a bad choice... The group calls me 'Crazy Fists', you sure you want to pick me?"

"I'll take you any day!" Biggs replied, though he wasn't so sure he had done the right thing.

Cloud looked at the last two boys, and smiled.

"I'll take you both on." He said smiling, holding his stick out like he was giving a salute.

"Kid... You couldn't beat either of us if we where alone, you think you can take us BOTH on?"

"Sure I think I can. I took out Big Hector, so you two should be easy."

The one who hadn't spoken looked a little shocked, and then his face turned into something that was a cross between determination and caution.

"Cloud... You sure you want to do that?" Biggs asked.

"Sure... Don't worry about me."

"Fine, suit yourself."

They paired off, and began to fight, circling and sizing up their opponents.

All of a sudden, with a lot of shouting, the fight broke out.

Biggs dodged a few punches from his opponent, while Tifa blocked a kick from Wedge.

Cloud stepped out of the way from a wild swing of a stick, and blocked the second one, his tongue sticking out in his concentration.

Zia quickly brought down Percy, who leaped back up to his feet, no believing that a girl could fight like that. Zia gave him a sneering grin, and pressed another attack, which he warded off with his arm.

Ajax had the large boy in a headlock, but it didn't last long, as the boy managed to twist out of it somehow.

The fight continued like this for a while, seeming that they where evenly matched, when Zia succeeded in bringing down Percy in a quick trip, and then pinning him to the ground. Tifa landed a punch to Wedge's stomach, and then tackled him to the ground, winning her part. Cloud knocked the stick from one of his opponents, and gave him a wrap on the shin, making him jump around holding his leg, and his other opponent (the one who was worried) just gave up, knowing Cloud would win if he kept fighting. Ajax beat the big kid, while Biggs just managed to beat 'Crazy Fists'.

Wedge stood up, his eyes wide as he surveyed his fallen comrades, and quickly signaled retreat.

"You haven't seen the last of us you little turds. We won't forget this!" Wedge shouted over his shoulder as he ran off with his friends.

Biggs grinned at the others and laughed.

"WE DID IT!" Zia cried, throwing her arms around Cloud in a victory hug.

"Uh... Yeah we did... Why're you hugging me?" Cloud asked, looking at Zia with confusion.

Zia blushed, and muttered something that he didn't hear, but he didn't seem to mind, because everyone was cheering for him.

"You took them both down! That was amazing!" Biggs said, slapping him on the shoulder.

"OW! I got hit there!" Cloud cried out in pain, as Biggs hit his bruised shoulder.

"Oh, sorry Champ! Didn't mean to hurt you!"

They cheered for a while longer, and then Biggs looked at his watch.

"It's 12:28! You two'd better get home quick!" Biggs said, gesturing to Cloud and Tifa, who where both very tired from staying up and then fighting.

"12:28!? We really need to go Cloud!" Tifa said, grabbing his hand, and dragging him away from Zia, who looked disappointed.

They ran home together, and slipped into their houses quietly, each reaching their bed, and falling on them, almost instantly asleep, not bothering to take off their dirty clothes.


End file.
